Relevant alert delivery in a distributed processing system with event listeners and alert listeners

ABSTRACT

Relevant alert delivery including determining, by an events listener associated with an event queue, whether one or more events in an events queue have not been assigned to any events pool by any event analyzer; and if one or more events in the events queue have not been assigned to any events pool, identifying by the events listener in dependence upon the event analysis rules one or more alerts; sending by the event listener to an alerts queue all the alerts identified by the event listener; the alerts queue having an associated alerts listener; determining whether one or more alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to any alert pool; if one or more alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to any alerts pool, and determining in dependence upon alert analysis rules whether to suppress the alerts; and transmitting the unsuppressed alerts.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of and claims priorityfrom U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/962,265, filed on Dec. 7, 2010.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was made with Government support under Contract No.HR0011-07-9-0002 awarded by the Department of Defense. The Governmenthas certain rights in this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically,methods, apparatus, and products for relevant alert delivery in adistributed processing system.

2. Description of Related Art

The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited asthe beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systemshave evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers aremuch more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computersystems typically include a combination of hardware and softwarecomponents, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses,memory, input/output devices, and so on. As advances in semiconductorprocessing and computer architecture push the performance of thecomputer higher and higher, more sophisticated computer software hasevolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware,resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful thanjust a few years ago.

Modern distributed processing systems for intensive computing may havemillions of devices with many processes running on each device all ofwhich are capable of error and status reporting for automated errorrecovery, reporting to a systems administrator, and for other reasons.In many cases, in the case of an error for example, the sheer number ofsuch error reports and status reports are so overwhelming that theycannot be handled in a meaningful manner. For example, a systemsadministrator receiving a hundred thousand error reports may beoverwhelmed by the sheer number of such reports and therefore in theaggregate those reports become more and more unhelpful and irrelevant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Methods, systems and products are provided for relevant alert deliveryin a distributed processing system that include determining, by anevents listener associated with an event queue, whether one or moreevents in an events queue have not been assigned to any events pool byany event analyzer; and if one or more events in the events queue havenot been assigned to any events pool, identifying by the events listenerin dependence upon the event analysis rules one or more alerts; sendingby the event listener to an alerts queue all the alerts identified bythe event listener; the alerts queue having an associated alertslistener; determining, by the alerts listener, whether one or morealerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to any alert pool; ifone or more alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to anyalerts pool, and determining by the alert listener in dependence uponalert analysis rules whether to suppress the alerts; and transmittingthe unsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescriptions of exemplary embodiments of the invention as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generallyrepresent like parts of exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for relevant alert delivery in adistributed processing system according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 sets forth a block diagram of automated computing machinerycomprising an exemplary computer useful in relevant alert deliveryaccording to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 sets forth a block diagram of an exemplary system for relevantalert delivery in a distributed processing system according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 sets forth a diagram illustrating assigning events to an eventpool according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 sets forth a diagram illustrating assigning alerts to an alertpool according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 sets forth a flow chart illustrating an example method ofrelevant alert delivery in a distributed processing system according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 sets forth a flow chart illustrating an additional method ofrelevant alert delivery in a distributed processing system that includesevents listeners and alert listeners.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary methods, systems, and computer program products for relevantalert delivery in a distributed processing system according toembodiments of the present invention are described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, beginning with FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates anexemplary system for relevant alert delivery in a distributed processingsystem according to embodiments of the present invention. A distributedprocessing system is typically implemented as multiple autonomous orsemi-autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network.In such example distributed processing systems, the computers ofteninteract with each other in order to achieve a common goal. A computerprogram that runs in such an example distributed system is typicallycalled a distributed program, and distributed programming is often usedto describe the process of writing such programs.

In the example of FIG. 1, the distributed processing system (101) isimplemented as a parallel computer (100), non-volatile memory for thecomputer in the form of data storage device (118), an output device forthe computer in the form of printer (120), and an input/output devicefor the computer in the form of computer terminal (122). The parallelcomputer (100) in the example of FIG. 1 also includes a plurality ofcompute nodes (102). Each compute node is an automated computing devicecomposed of one or more computer processors, its own computer memory,and its own input/output functionality. The compute nodes (102) arecoupled for data communications by several independent datacommunications networks including a high speed Ethernet network (174), aJoint Test Action Group (‘JTAG’) network (104), a tree network (106)which is optimized for collective operations, and a torus network (108)which is optimized for point to point operations. Tree network (106) isa data communications network that includes data communications linksconnected to the compute nodes so as to organize the compute nodes as atree. Each data communications network is implemented with datacommunications links among the compute nodes (102). The datacommunications links provide data communications for parallel operationsamong the compute nodes of the parallel computer. In addition to computenodes, computer (100) includes input/output (‘I/O’) nodes (110, 114)coupled to compute nodes (102) through one of the data communicationsnetworks (174). The I/O nodes (110, 114) provide I/O services betweencompute nodes (102) and I/O devices (118, 120, 122). I/O nodes (110,114) are connected for data communications I/O devices (118, 120, 122)through local area network (‘LAN’) (130). Computer (100) also includes aservice node (116) coupled to the compute nodes through one of thenetworks (104). Service node (116) provides service common topluralities of compute nodes, loading programs into the compute nodes,starting program execution on the compute nodes, retrieving results ofprogram operations on the computer nodes, and so on. Service node (116)runs a service application (124) and communicates with users (128)through a service application interface (126) that runs on computerterminal (122).

Many of the components of the distributed processing system of FIG. 1,that is the devices of the distributed processing system or processesrunning on the devices of the distributed processing system of FIG. 1are capable of some form of error or status reporting through events andmany of such components are also capable of receiving alerts in responseto one or more of such events. Often in distributed processing systemsuseful according to embodiments of the present invention hundreds ofthousands or millions of components may provide events or receivealerts.

The service node (116) of FIG. 1 has installed upon it an event andalert analysis module (124) capable of relevant alert delivery in adistributed processing system according to embodiments of the presentinvention. The event and alert analysis module (124) of FIG. 1 isimplemented as automated computing machinery capable of receiving in anevent queue a plurality of events from one or more components of adistributed processing system; assigning by an event analyzer eachreceived event to an events pool; identifying by the event analyzer independence upon event analysis rules and the events assigned to theevents pool one or more alerts; sending by the event analyzer to analert analyzer all the alerts identified by the event analyzer;assigning by the alert analyzer the identified alerts to an alerts pool;determining by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alert analysisrules and the alerts in the alert pool whether to suppress any alerts;and transmitting the unsuppressed alerts to one or more components ofthe distributed processing system.

In some embodiments the unsuppressed alerts are transmitted to one ormore components of the distributed processing system. One such componentmay be a terminal (122) for display to a systems administrator. Othercomponents may include a component that generated an event, a componentfor error reporting, a component for automated error recovery or anyother component that will occur to those of skill in the art.

The event and alert module (124) of FIG. 1 also includes automatedcomputing machinery capable of determining, by an events listenerassociated with an event queue, whether one or more events in an eventsqueue have not been assigned to any events pool by any event analyzer;and if one or more events in the events queue have not been assigned toany events pool, identifying by the events listener in dependence uponthe event analysis rules one or more alerts; sending by the eventlistener to an alerts queue all the alerts identified by the eventlistener; the alerts queue having an associated alerts listener;determining, by the alerts listener, whether one or more alerts in thealerts queue have not been assigned to any alert pool; and if one ormore alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to any alertspool, determining by the alert listener in dependence upon alertanalysis rules whether to suppress the alerts; and transmitting theunsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.

The event and alert module (124) of FIG. 1 allows the number of eventsreceived and alerts produced at any given time to be less overwhelmingto a systems administrator (128) attempting to identify a problem oroccurrence in the distributed processing system. Relevant alert deliveryprovides alerts that are more meaningful to a user in determining how toadminister the functions and errors associated with a distributedprocessing system.

The arrangement of nodes, networks, and I/O devices making up theexemplary distributed processing system illustrated in FIG. 1 are forexplanation only, not for limitation of the present invention.Distributed data processing systems capable of relevant alert deliveryaccording to embodiments of the present invention may include additionalnodes, networks, devices, and architectures, not shown in FIG. 1, aswill occur to those of skill in the art. The parallel computer (100) inthe example of FIG. 1 includes sixteen compute nodes (102); parallelcomputers capable of relevant alert delivery according to embodiments ofthe present invention sometimes include thousands of compute nodes. Inaddition to Ethernet and JTAG, networks in such data processing systemsmay support many data communications protocols including for example TCP(Transmission Control Protocol), IP (Internet Protocol), and others aswill occur to those of skill in the art. Various embodiments of thepresent invention may be implemented on a variety of hardware platformsin addition to those illustrated in FIG. 1.

Relevant alert delivery in accordance with the present invention isgenerally implemented with computers, that is, with automated computingmachinery. In the system of FIG. 1, for example, all the service nodes,I/O nodes, compute nodes, of the parallel computer are implemented tosome extent at least as computers. For further explanation, therefore,FIG. 2 sets forth a block diagram of automated computing machinerycomprising an exemplary computer (152) useful in relevant alert deliveryaccording to embodiments of the present invention. The computer (152) ofFIG. 2 includes at least one computer processor (156) or ‘CPU’ as wellas random access memory (168) (‘RAM’) which is connected through a highspeed memory bus (166) and bus adapter (158) to processor (156) and toother components of the computer (152) and through an expansion bus toadapters for communications with other components of a distributedprocessing system (101).

Stored in RAM (168) is an event and alert analysis module (124), amodule of automated computing machinery for relevant alert deliveryaccording to embodiments of the present invention. The event and alertanalysis module (124) includes an event analyzer (208) and an alertanalyzer (218). The event analyzer of FIG. 2 is a module of automatedcomputing machinery capable of identifying alerts in dependence uponreceived events. That is, event analyzers typically receive events andproduce alerts. In many embodiments, a plurality of event analyzers areimplemented in parallel. Often such event analyzers are assigned to aparticular pool of events and may be focused on events from a particularcomponent or caused by a particular occurrence to produce a more conciseset of alerts.

The alert analyzer of FIG. 2 is a module of automated computingmachinery capable of identifying alerts for transmission from events andother alerts, identifying additional alerts for transmission, andsuppressing unnecessary, irrelevant, or otherwise unwanted alertsidentified by the event analyzer. That is, alert analyzers typicallyreceive alerts and events and produce or forward alerts in dependenceupon those alerts and events. In many embodiments, a plurality of alertanalyzers are implemented in parallel. Often such alert analyzers areassigned to a particular pool of alerts and may be focused on alertswith particular attributes to produce a more concise set of alerts.

The event and alert analysis module (124) of FIG. 2 includes computerprogram instructions for receiving in an event queue a plurality ofevents from one or more components (for example, 100, 182, 181, 180, and170) of a distributed processing system (101); assigning by the eventanalyzer (208) each received event to an events pool; identifying by theevent analyzer (208) in dependence upon event analysis rules and theevents assigned to the events pool one or more alerts; sending by theevent analyzer (208) to an alert analyzer (218) all the alertsidentified by the event analyzer (208); assigning by the alert analyzer(218) the identified alerts to an alerts pool; determining by the alertanalyzer (218) in dependence upon alert analysis rules and the alerts inthe alert pool whether to suppress any alerts; and transmitting theunsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.

The event and alert module (124) of FIG. 2 also includes computerprogram instructions for determining, by an events listener associatedwith an event queue, whether one or more events in an events queue havenot been assigned to any events pool by any event analyzer; and if oneor more events in the events queue have not been assigned to any eventspool, identifying by the events listener in dependence upon the eventanalysis rules one or more alerts; sending by the event listener to analerts queue all the alerts identified by the event listener; the alertsqueue having an associated alerts listener; determining, by the alertslistener, whether one or more alerts in the alerts queue have not beenassigned to any alert pool; and if one or more alerts in the alertsqueue have not been assigned to any alerts pool, determining by thealert listener in dependence upon alert analysis rules whether tosuppress the alerts; and transmitting the unsuppressed alerts to one ormore components of the distributed processing system.

Also stored in RAM (168) is an operating system (154). Operating systemsuseful for relevant alert delivery according to embodiments of thepresent invention include UNIX™ Linux™ Microsoft XP™ AIX™ IBM's i5/OS™and others as will occur to those of skill in the art. The operatingsystem (154), event and alert analysis module (124), the event analyzer(208), the alert analyzer (218) in the example of FIG. 2 are shown inRAM (168), but many components of such software typically are stored innon-volatile memory also, such as, for example, on a disk drive (170).

The computer (152) of FIG. 2 includes disk drive adapter (172) coupledthrough expansion bus (160) and bus adapter (158) to processor (156) andother components of the computer (152). Disk drive adapter (172)connects non-volatile data storage to the computer (152) in the form ofdisk drive (170). Disk drive adapters useful in computers for relevantalert delivery according to embodiments of the present invention includeIntegrated Drive Electronics (‘IDE’) adapters, Small Computer SystemInterface (‘SCSI’) adapters, and others as will occur to those of skillin the art. Non-volatile computer memory also may be implemented for asan optical disk drive, electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (so-called ‘EEPROM’ or ‘Flash’ memory), RAM drives, and so on, aswill occur to those of skill in the art.

The example computer (152) of FIG. 2 includes one or more input/output(‘I/O’) adapters (178). I/O adapters implement user-orientedinput/output through, for example, software drivers and computerhardware for controlling output to display devices such as computerdisplay screens, as well as user input from user input devices (181)such as keyboards and mice. The example computer (152) of FIG. 2includes a video adapter (209), which is an example of an I/O adapterspecially designed for graphic output to a display device (180) such asa display screen or computer monitor. Video adapter (209) is connectedto processor (156) through a high speed video bus (164), bus adapter(158), and the front side bus (162), which is also a high speed bus.

The exemplary computer (152) of FIG. 2 includes a communications adapter(167) for data communications with other computers (182) and for datacommunications with a data communications network (100). Such datacommunications may be carried out serially through RS-232 connections,through external buses such as a Universal Serial Bus (‘USB’), throughdata communications data communications networks such as IP datacommunications networks, and in other ways as will occur to those ofskill in the art. Communications adapters implement the hardware levelof data communications through which one computer sends datacommunications to another computer, directly or through a datacommunications network. Examples of communications adapters useful forrelevant alert delivery according to embodiments of the presentinvention include modems for wired dial-up communications, Ethernet(IEEE 802.3) adapters for wired data communications networkcommunications, and 802.11 adapters for wireless data communicationsnetwork communications.

For further explanation, FIG. 3 sets forth a block diagram of anexemplary system for relevant alert delivery in a distributed processingsystem (102) according to embodiments of the present invention. Thesystem of FIG. 3 includes an event and alert analysis module (124). Theevent and alert analysis module (124) of FIG. 3 receives in an eventqueue (206) a plurality of events (202) from one or more components of adistributed processing system (102). A component of a distributedprocessing system according to embodiments of the present invention maybe a device of the distributed processing system or a process running ona device of the distributed processing. Such components are oftencapable of some form event transmission, often for error or statusreporting.

An event according to embodiments of the present invention is anotification of a particular occurrence in or on a component of thedistributed processing system. Such events are sent from the componentupon which the occurrence occurred or another reporting component to anevent and alert analysis module according to the present invention.Often events are notifications of errors occurring in a component of thedata processing system. Events are often implemented as messages eithersent through a data communications network or shared memory. Typicalevents for event and alert analysis according to embodiments of thepresent invention an occurred time, a logged time, an event type, anevent ID, a reporting component, and a source component, and otherattributes. An occurred time is the time at which the event occurred onthe component. A logged time is the time the event was included in theevent queue (206) and is typically inserted into the event by themonitor (204) in the example of FIG. 3. An event type is a generic typeof event such as for example, power error, link failure error, errorsrelated to not receiving messages or dropping packets and so on as willoccur to those of skill in the art. An event ID is a uniqueidentification of the event. A reporting component is an identificationof the component that reported the event. A source component is anidentification of the component upon which the event occurred. In manycases, but not all, the reporting component and source component are thesame component of the distributed processing system.

In the example of FIG. 3, the event and alert analysis module (124)includes a monitor (204) that receives events from components of thedistributed processing system and puts the received events (202) in theevent queue (206). The monitor (204) of FIG. 3 may receive events fromcomponents of the distributed processing system on their motion, mayperiodically poll one or more of the components of the distributedprocessing system, or receive events from components in other ways aswill occur to those of skill in the art.

They system of FIG. 3 includes an event analyzer (208). The eventanalyzer (208) of FIG. 3 is a module of automated computing machinerycapable of identifying alerts in dependence upon received events. Thatis, event analyzers typically receive events and produce alerts. In manyembodiments, a plurality of event analyzers are implemented in parallel.Often event analyzers are assigned to a particular pool of events andmay be focused on events from a particular component or caused by aparticular occurrence to produce a more concise set of alerts.

The event analyzer (208) of FIG. 3 assigns each received event (202) toan events pool (212). An events pool (212) is a collection of eventsorganized by the time of either their occurrence, by the time they arelogged in the event queue, included in the events pool, or other time aswill occur to those of skill in the art. That is, event pools are acollection of events organized by time. Such events pools often providethe ability to analyze a group of time related events identify alerts independence upon them. Often such event pools are useful in identifyingfewer and more relevant alerts in dependence upon multiple relatedevents.

An events pool according to the method of FIG. 3 has a predeterminedinitial period of time and in the example of FIG. 3 assigning by theevent analyzer each received event to an events pool includes extendingfor each event assigned to the events pool the predetermined initialperiod of time by a particular period of time assigned to the event. Inthis manner, the pool is extended with each received event until acollection of events that may be usefully used to identify alerts isassigned to the events pool. As mentioned above, in some embodiments ofthe present invention, more than one event analyzer may operate inparallel. As such, each event analyzer may maintain one or more eventpools for relevant alert delivery according to embodiments of thepresent invention. Assigning by the event analyzer the events to anevents pool may therefore include selecting only events from one or moreparticular components. In such embodiments, particular components may beselected for a particular events pool to provide events associated witha particular period of time from a particular set of one or morecomponents.

Assigning by the event analyzer the events to an events pool may also becarried out by selecting only events of a particular event type. In suchembodiments, particular events may be selected for a particular eventspool to provide events associated with a particular period of time froma particular set of event types.

Event analyzer (208) in the example of FIG. 3 identifies in dependenceupon the event analysis rules (210) and the events assigned to theevents pool one or more alerts (214). Event analyses rules (210) are acollection of predetermined rules for meaningfully parsing receivedevents to identify relevant alerts in dependence upon the events. Suchrules are predetermined to identify particular alerts in dependence upona combination of one or more events and the attributes of those events.Event analysis rules may for example dictate identifying a particularpredetermined alert for transmission to a systems administrator independence upon a particular event type or component type for the eventor other attribute of that event. Such event analysis rules are flexibleand may be tailored to a particular distributed computing system and itsfunctions.

An alert according to embodiments of the present invention is refinedidentification of an occurrence—such and an error—based upon more thanone event and therefore provides an identification of the occurrence inthe context of its operation in the distributed processing system. Oftenan alert may be a notification of a particular error type of occurrencethat is identified in dependence upon the plurality of events receivedfrom one or more components of the data processing system, such as, forexample, a link failure among a plurality of devices each of which areproducing many events based upon the single link failure, or a powerfailure provoking thousands of events, and so on.

Alerts are often implemented as messages to be sent through a datacommunications network or shared memory. Typical alerts according toembodiments of the present invention have attributes attached to thembased upon the attributes of the events received from which they areidentified.

Event analyzer (208) in the example of FIG. 3 sends all the alerts (214)identified by the event analyzer (208) to an alert analyzer (218). Thealert analyzer of FIG. 3 is a module of automated computing machinerycapable of identifying alerts for transmission from events and otheralerts, identifying additional alerts for transmission, and suppressingunnecessary, irrelevant, or otherwise unwanted alerts identified by theevent analyzer. That is, alert analyzers typically receive alerts andevents and produce or forward alerts in dependence upon those alerts andevents. In many embodiments, a plurality of alert analyzers areimplemented in parallel. The alerts (216) in the example of FIG. 3 aresent from event analyzer (208) to an alert analyzer (218) through analerts queue (216).

The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3 assigns each of the identified alerts(214) to an alerts pool (224). An alerts pool (224) is a collection ofalerts organized by the time of one or more the events causing the alertto be identified, the time the alert is identified, or other time aswill occur to those of skill in the art. That is, alerts pools are acollection of alerts organized by time. Such alerts pools often providethe ability to analyze a groups alerts identified and included in thealerts pool according to some time. Often such alerts pools are usefulin identifying fewer and more relevant alerts in dependence uponmultiple related events and multiple related alerts.

Assigning by the alert analyzer the identified alerts to an alerts pool(224) may be carried out by selecting only alerts generated from eventsfrom one or more particular components, selecting only alerts associatedwith a particular alert type and so on as will occur to those of skillin the art.

The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3 determines in dependence upon alertanalysis rules (222) and the alerts in the alert pool whether tosuppress any alerts. Suppressing an alert is typically carried out bydropping the alert, deleting the alert or otherwise not transmitting thesuppressed alert to a component of the distributed processing system.

Alert analyses rules (222) are a collection of rules for suppressing oneor more alerts to provide a more relevant set of alerts for transmissionto a component of the distributed processing system, such as forexample, for display to a systems administrator and to identifyadditional alerts for transmission to one or more components of thedistributed processing system. Alert analysis rules for example maydictate that duplicate alerts are to be suppressed, alerts of aparticular type for transmission to a particular component are to besuppressed, alerts of a particular type be transmitted to a particularcomponent are to be suppressed and so on as will occur to those of skillin the art. Such alerts may be more meaningful to a component of thedistributed processing system for automated error recovery or for asystems administrator who may otherwise be less informed by a number ofraw unanalyzed alerts.

The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3 also has access to the events queue(206). The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3 in dependence upon the alertanalysis rules may, in some embodiments select events from the eventsqueue and determine whether to suppress any alerts in dependence uponthe selected events. That is, alert analysis rules may also take intoaccount events and their attributes for suppressing alerts and foridentifying additional alerts for transmission to one or morecomponents. Such events may be related to the alerts in the alerts poolor independent from such alerts. The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3transmits the unsuppressed alerts to one or more components of thedistributed processing system. The alert analyzer may transmit theunsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system by sending the alert as a message across a datacommunications network, through shared memory, or in other ways as willoccur to those of skill in the art. In the example of FIG. 3, theunsuppressed alerts (220) are transmitted to a terminal (122) fordisplay to a systems administrator (128).

The alert analyzer (218) of FIG. 3 is also capable of identifying independence upon alert analysis rules (222), the alerts in the alert pool(224), and selected events (206) one or more additional alerts andtransmitting the one or more components of the distributed processingsystem. The additional alerts may include one or more alerts notidentified by the event analyzer. Such additional alerts may provideadditional information to a component of the distributed processingsystem of a systems administrator.

As mentioned, in many embodiments of relevant alert delivery accordingto embodiments of the present invention a plurality of event analyzers(208) and alert analyzers (218) operate in parallel with a plurality ofevents pools (212) and alerts pools (224). However, in such embodiments,there is the possibility that an event will not be assigned to an eventspool by an events analyzer or an alert will not be assigned to alertspool by an alert analyzer. Typically, an event or alert may not beassigned to an event pool or alert pool because the attributes of theevent or alert do not correspond with the attributes sought by anyinstantiated event analyzer or alert analyzer. As such, the events andalert analysis module (124) of FIG. 3 has an events listener (290)associated with the events queue (206) to process events otherwise notassigned to an events pool (212) and an alerts listener (292) associatedwith an alerts queue (216) to process alerts otherwise not assigned toan alerts pool (224).

The event listener (290) in the example of FIG. 3 is a module ofautomated computing machinery that monitors each event in the eventqueue and determines whether the event has been assigned to one or moreevents pools. The events listener (290) determines whether one or moreevents in an events queue have not been assigned to any events pool byany event analyzer and if one or more events in the events queue havenot been assigned to any events pool, the event listener (290)identifies in dependence upon the event analysis rules one or morealerts and sends the identified alerts to an alerts queue.

The alerts listener (290) is a module of automated computing machinerythat monitors the alerts queue and determines whether one or more alertshas not been assigned to an alerts pool. The alerts listener (290) ofFIG. 2 determines whether one or more alerts in the alerts queue havenot been assigned to any alert pool and if one or more alerts in thealerts queue have not been assigned to any alerts pool, the alertslistener (290) determines in dependence upon alert analysis ruleswhether to suppress the alerts and transmits the unsuppressed alerts toone or more components of the distributed processing system.

As mentioned above, relevant alert delivery according to the presentinvention includes assigning events to an event pool. For furtherexplanation, FIG. 4 sets forth a diagram illustrating assigning eventsto an event pool according to embodiments of the present invention. Anevents pool (212) is a collection of events organized by the time ofeither their occurrence, by the time they are logged in the event queue,included in the events pool, or other time as will occur to those ofskill in the art. That is, event pools are a collection of eventsorganized by time. Such events pools often provide the ability toanalyze a group of time related events and to identify alerts independence upon them. Often such event pools are useful in identifyingfewer and more relevant alerts in dependence upon multiple relatedevents.

Events are often assigned to an events pool according to their loggedtime. That is, events are typically inserted into the events pool in theorder that they are received in the event queue. In the example of FIG.4, the timing of the events pool (212) is initiated when the first event‘Event 0’ (402) is assigned to the events pool (212) at time t₀. Theevents pool of FIG. 4 is initiated for a predetermined initial period oftime from t₁ to t_(f). That is, upon receiving the first event ‘Event 0’(402) the events pool of FIG. 4 has a predetermined initial period oftime beginning at t₁ and ending at t_(f). The predetermined initialperiod of time may be configured in dependence upon a number of factorsas will occur to those of skill in the art such as, the number ofcomponents in the distributed processing system, the frequency ofreceiving events, the types of events typically received and so on aswill occur to those of skill in the art.

In the example FIG. 4, the initial period of time is extended for eachnew event assigned to the events pool during the predetermined initialperiod from t₁ to t_(f) by a particular period of time assigned to theevent. In the example of FIG. 4 upon assigning ‘Event 1’ (402) to theevents pool (212) the predetermined initial period of time t₀−t_(f) isextended by ‘Extension 1’ (406) having a time of e1 thereby creating anew time for closing the events pool (212) at t_(f+e1) if no otherevents are assigned to the pool before t_(f+e1). Similarly, in theexample of FIG. 4 upon assigning ‘Event 2’ (404) to the events poolhaving a time of e2, the now extended period of time from t₀−t_(f+e1) isextended again by extension 2 (406) thereby establishing a new time forclosing the pool at time t_(f+e1+e2) if no other events are assigned tothe pool before t_(f+e1+e2) or before some maximum time for the eventspool has expired. In this manner, the event pool is extended with eachreceived event until a collection of events that may be usefully used toidentify alerts is assigned to the events pool.

In typical embodiments of the present invention, event pools may have amaximum duration that can no longer be extended. In such cases, arequirement may exist that an event that has not resided in the eventpool for a threshold period of time be moved to a next events pool. Insome embodiments, the attributes of such an event that is moved to thenext events pool are used for relevant alert delivery according toembodiments of the present invention with the initial events pool and inother embodiments, the attributes of such an event are used for relevantalert delivery with the next events pool to which that event is moved.

In many embodiments, a plurality of events pools may be used in paralleland one or more of such events pools are assigned to a particular eventsanalyzer. In such embodiments, events analyzers may be directed toevents in events pools having particular attributes.

As mentioned above, relevant alert delivery according to the presentinvention also includes assigning alerts to an alerts pool. For furtherexplanation, FIG. 5 sets forth a diagram illustrating assigning alertsto an alert pool according to embodiments of the present invention. Thealerts pool (224) of FIG. 5 operates in a manner similar to the eventspool of FIG. 4. That is, the alerts pool according to the example ofFIG. 5 includes alerts and the timing of the alerts pool begins with thefirst alert ‘Alert 0’ (500) at time t₀ and is configured to have apredetermined initial period of time t₀−t_(f). In the example of FIG. 5,the initial period of time is extended for each new alert assigned tothe alerts pool in the predetermined initial period from t₁ to t_(f) bya particular period of time assigned to the alert. In the example ofFIG. 5, upon assigning ‘Alert 1’ (502) to the alerts pool (224) thepredetermined initial period of time t₀−t_(f) is extended by ‘Extension1’ (506) having a time of e1 thereby creating a new time for closing thealerts pool (224) at t_(f+e1) if no other alerts are assigned to thepool before t_(f+e1). Similarly, in the example of FIG. 4 upon assigning‘Alert 2’ (504) to the alerts pool having a time of e2, the now extendedperiod of time from t₀−t_(f+e1) is extended again by ‘Extension 2’ (406)thereby establishing a new time for closing the pool at time t_(f+e1+e2)if no other alerts are assigned to the pool before t_(f+e1+e2) or beforesome maximum time for the alerts pool has expired.

In typical embodiments of the present invention, alerts pools may have amaximum duration that can no longer be extended. In such cases, arequirement may exist that an alert that has not resided in the alertpool for a threshold period of time be moved to a next alerts pool. Insome embodiments, the attributes of such an alert that is moved to thenext alerts pool are used for relevant alert delivery according toembodiments of the present invention with the initial alerts pool and inother embodiments, the attributes of such an alert are used for relevantalert delivery with the next alerts pool to which that alert is moved.

In many embodiments, a plurality of alerts pools may be used in paralleland one or more of such alerts pools are assigned to a particular alertsanalyzer. In such embodiments, alerts analyzers may be directed toalerts in alerts pools having particular attributes.

For further explanation, FIG. 6 sets forth a flow chart illustrating anexample method of relevant alert delivery in a distributed processingsystem (102) according to embodiments of the present invention. Themethod of FIG. 6 includes receiving (402) in an event queue a pluralityof events (202) from one or more components of a distributed processingsystem. Events useful in relevant alert delivery according toembodiments of the present invention may include an occurred time, alogged time, an event type, an event ID, a reporting component, and asource component.

Receiving (402) in an event queue a plurality of events (202) from oneor more components of a distributed processing system may be carried outby receiving an event initiated by one or more components of the dataprocessing system and storing the event in the event queue according tothe time in which the event occurred or according to the time the eventwas received. Receiving (402) in an event queue a plurality of events(202) from one or more components of a distributed processing systemalso may be carried out by polling a component for status and receivingin response an event and storing the event in the event queue accordingto the time in which the event occurred or according to the time theevent was received.

The method of FIG. 6 includes assigning (404) by an event analyzer eachreceived event (202) to an events pool (212). In some embodiments of thepresent invention, assigning (404) by an event analyzer each receivedevent (202) to an events pool (212) may be carried out by assigningevents to the event pool according to the logged time. Assigning (404)by an event analyzer each received event (202) to an events pool (212)may also be carried out in dependence upon attributes of the event. Suchattributes may include an identification or type of the component uponwhich an occurrence occurred to create the event, the reportingcomponent of the event, the event ID, the event type, and so on as willoccur to those of skill in the art.

An events pool according to the method of FIG. 6 includes eventsoccurring during a predetermined initial period of time and in theexample of FIG. 6 assigning (404) by the event analyzer each receivedevent to an events pool includes extending (426) for each event assignedto the events pool the predetermined initial period of time by aparticular period of time assigned to the event.

The method of FIG. 6 also includes identifying (410) by the eventanalyzer in dependence upon event analysis rules (210) and the eventsassigned to the events pool one or more alerts (214). Identifying (410)by the event analyzer in dependence upon event analysis rules (210) andthe events assigned to the events pool one or more alerts (214) may becarried out by identifying alerts in dependence upon one or moreattributes of the events assigned to the events pool. Identifying (410)by the event analyzer in dependence upon event analysis rules (210) andthe events assigned to the events pool one or more alerts (214) may becarried by comparing the attributes of the events to the event analysisrules and identifying as a result of the comparison one or more alerts.Such attributes may include the type of component from which the eventwas received, the type of component creating the event, theidentification of the component creating the event, the time the eventwas created or received, an error reported in the event, and many othersas will occur to those of skill in the art.

Identifying (410) by the event analyzer in dependence upon eventanalysis rules (210) and the events assigned to the events pool one ormore alerts (214) may be carried out by selecting the events for theevents pool, comparing the attributes of the events of the events poolto the event analysis rules, and identifying as a result of thecomparison one or more alerts dictated for transmission according to theevent analysis rules.

The method of FIG. 6 also includes sending (412) by the event analyzerto an alert analyzer all the alerts (214) identified by the eventanalyzer. Sending (412) by the event analyzer to an alert analyzer allthe alerts (214) identified by the event analyzer may be carried out bysending a message containing the alerts from the event analyzer to thealert analyzer. Such a message may be sent from the event analyzer tothe alert analyzer across a network, through shared memory, or in otherways as will occur to those of skill in the art.

The method of FIG. 6 also includes assigning (414) by the alert analyzerthe identified alerts to an alerts pool (224). An alerts pool accordingto the method of FIG. 6 has a predetermined initial period of time andin the example of FIG. 6 assigning (414) by the alert analyzer theidentified alerts to an alerts pool (224) includes extending (426) foreach alert assigned to the alerts pool the predetermined initial periodof time by a particular period of time assigned to the alert. Assigning(414) by the alert analyzer the identified alerts to an alerts pool(224) also may be carried out in dependence upon attributes of thealerts. Such attributes may include an identification or type of thecomponent upon which an occurrence occurred to create the event that wasused to identify the alert, the alert ID, the alert type, and so on aswill occur to those of skill in the art.

The method of FIG. 6 also includes determining (416) by the alertanalyzer in dependence upon alert analysis rules (222) and the alerts inthe alert pool whether to suppress any alerts. Determining (416) by thealert analyzer in dependence upon alert analysis rules (222) and thealerts in the alert pool whether to suppress any alerts may be carriedout in dependence upon one or more attributes of the alerts. Suchattributes may include an identification or type of the component uponwhich an occurrence occurred to create the event that was used toidentify the alert, the alert ID, the alert type, and so on as willoccur to those of skill in the art. In such embodiments, determining(416) by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alert analysis rules(222) and the alerts in the alert pool whether to suppress any alertsmay be carried out by comparing the attributes of the alerts in thealerts pool to the alert analysis rules and identifying as a result ofthe comparison one or more alerts for suppression according to the eventanalysis rules.

The method of FIG. 6 also includes transmitting (422) the unsuppressedalerts to one or more components of the distributed processing system.Transmitting (422) the unsuppressed alerts to one or more components ofthe distributed processing system may be carried out by sending amessage containing the alert to one or more components of thedistributed processing system. In many cases, an alert may be sent as amessage to a systems administrator advising the systems administrator ofone or more occurrences within the distributed processing system.

As mentioned above, alert analysis rules may select additional alerts orsuppress alerts in dependence upon events. In such embodiments,determining whether to suppress any alerts includes selecting events anddetermining whether to suppress any alerts in dependence upon theselected events. The method of FIG. 6 therefore also includesidentifying (420) by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alertanalysis rules (222), the alerts in the alert pool (224), and anyselected events one or more additional alerts and in the method of FIG.6, transmitting (422) the unsuppressed alerts also includes transmitting(424) any additional alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.

As mentioned, in many embodiments of relevant alert delivery accordingto embodiments of the present invention a plurality of event analyzersand alert analyzers operate in parallel with a plurality of events poolsand alerts pools. However, in such embodiments, there is the possibilitythat an event will not be assigned to an events pool by an eventsanalyzer or an alert will not be assigned to alerts pool by an alertanalyzer. Typically, an event or alert may not be assigned to an eventpool or alert pool because the attributes of the event or alert do notcorrespond with the attributes sought by any instantiated event analyzeror alert analyzer. As such, in some embodiments of the relevant alertdelivery according to the present invention, an events listener isassociated with an events queue to process events otherwise not assignedto an events pool and an alerts listener is associated with an alertsqueue to process alerts otherwise not assigned to an alerts pool.

For further explanation, therefore, FIG. 7 sets forth a flow chartillustrating an additional method of relevant alert delivery in adistributed processing system that includes events listeners and alertlisteners. The method of FIG. 7 is similar to the method of FIG. 6 inthat the method of FIG. 7 includes receiving (502) in an event queue(206) a plurality of events from one or more components of a distributedprocessing system, assigning (504) by a plurality of event analyzers oneor more received events (202) to one or more events pools (212);identifying (506) by the event analyzer in dependence upon eventanalysis rules and the events assigned to the events pool one or morealerts; and sending (514) by the event analyzer to an alert analyzer allthe alerts identified by the event analyzer as discussed above withreference to FIG. 6.

In the example of FIG. 7, however, the event queue has an associatedevents listener and the method of FIG. 7 also includes determining(508), by an events listener associated with the event queue (206),whether one or more events (202) in an events queue (206) have not beenassigned to any events pool (212) by any event analyzer. An eventlistener is a module of automated computing machinery that monitors eachevent in the event queue and determines whether the event has beenassigned to one or more events pools. Typically, an event may not beassigned to an event pool because the attributes of the event does notcorrespond with the attributes sought by any instantiated eventanalyzer. Determining (508), by an events listener associated with theevent queue (206), whether one or more events (202) in an events queue(206) have not been assigned to any events pool (212) by any eventanalyzer may be carried out by tracking the events in a data structureand having an identification in the data structure that is set when anevent analyzer assigns an event to an events pool. Such a data structuremay be maintained separately by an events and alert analysis module, maybe included in the events themselves, or in other ways as will occur tothose of skill in the art.

If one or more events (202) in the events queue (206) have not beenassigned to any events pool (212), the method of FIG. 7 includesidentifying (510) by the events listener in dependence upon the eventanalysis rules one or more alerts. Identifying (510) by the eventslistener in dependence upon the event analysis rules one or more alertsmay be carried out by selecting the events that have not been assignedto an events pool, comparing the attributes of the events to the eventanalysis rules, and identifying as a result of the comparison one ormore alerts dictated for transmission according to the event analysisrules.

The method of FIG. 7 includes sending (512) by the event listener to analerts queue (206) all the alerts identified by the event listener.Sending (512) by the event listener to an alerts queue (206) all thealerts identified by the event listener may be carried out by sending amessage containing the alerts from the event listener to the alertqueue. Such a message may be sent from the event listener to the alertqueue across a network, through shared memory, or in other ways as willoccur to those of skill in the art.

The method of FIG. 7 is also similar to the method of FIG. 6 in that themethod of FIG. 7 includes assigning (516) by a plurality alert analyzersone or more of the identified alerts to one or more alerts pool (224),determining (526) by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alertanalysis rules (222) and the alerts in the alert pool (224) whether tosuppress any alerts; identifying (528) by the alert analyzer independence upon alert analysis rules, the alerts in the alert pool, andselected events one or more additional alerts; transmitting (524) theunsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system as discussed above with reference to FIG. 6.

In the example of FIG. 7, however, the alerts queue (206) has anassociated alerts listener and the method of FIG. 7 also includesdetermining (518), by the alerts listener, whether one or more alerts inthe alerts queue (206) have not been assigned to any alert pool (224).Typically, an alert may not be assigned to an alert pool because theattributes of the alert does not correspond with the attributes soughtby any instantiated alert analyzer. Determining (518), by the alertslistener, whether one or more alerts in the alerts queue (206) have notbeen assigned to any alert pool (224) may be carried out by tracking thealerts in a data structure and having an identification in the datastructure that is set when an alert analyzer assigns an alert to analerts pool. Such a data structure may be maintained separately by anevent and alert analysis module, may be included in the alertthemselves, or in other ways as will occur to those of skill in the art.

If one or more alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to anyalerts pool (224), the method of FIG. 7 also includes determining (520)by the alert listener in dependence upon alert analysis rules whether tosuppress the alerts. Determining (520) by the alert listener independence upon alert analysis rules whether to suppress the alerts maybe carried out in dependence upon one or more attributes of the alerts.Such attributes may include an identification or type of the componentupon which an occurrence occurred to create the event that was used toidentify the alert, the alert ID, the alert type, and so on as willoccur to those of skill in the art. In such embodiments, determining(520) by the alert listener in dependence upon alert analysis ruleswhether to suppress the alerts may be carried out by comparing theattributes of the alerts that are not assigned to an alerts pool to thealert analysis rules and identifying as a result of the comparison oneor more alerts for suppression according to the event analysis rules.

The method of FIG. 7 also includes identifying (522) by the alertlistener in dependence upon alert analysis rules one or more additionalalerts. Identifying (522) by the alert listener in dependence upon alertanalysis rules one or more additional alerts may be carried out byselecting the alerts that have not been assigned to an alerts pool,comparing the attributes of the alerts to the alert analysis rules, andidentifying as a result of the comparison one or more alerts dictatedfor transmission according to the alert analysis rules.

The method of FIG. 7 also includes transmitting (524) the unsuppressedalerts to one or more components of the distributed processing system.Transmitting (524) the unsuppressed alerts to one or more components ofthe distributed processing system may be carried out by sending amessage containing the alert to one or more components of thedistributed processing system. In many cases, an alert may be sent as amessage to a systems administrator advising the systems administrator ofone or more occurrences within the distributed processing system.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that modificationsand changes may be made in various embodiments of the present inventionwithout departing from its true spirit. The descriptions in thisspecification are for purposes of illustration only and are not to beconstrued in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention islimited only by the language of the following claims.

1. A method of relevant alert delivery in a distributed processingsystem, the method comprising: determining, by an events listenerassociated with an event queue, whether one or more events in an eventsqueue have not been assigned to any events pool by any event analyzer;and if one or more events in the events queue have not been assigned toany events pool, identifying by the events listener in dependence uponthe event analysis rules one or more alerts; sending by the eventlistener to an alerts queue all the alerts identified by the eventlistener; the alerts queue having an associated alerts listener;determining, by the alerts listener, whether one or more alerts in thealerts queue have not been assigned to any alert pool; and if one ormore alerts in the alerts queue have not been assigned to any alertspool, determining by the alert listener in dependence upon alertanalysis rules whether to suppress the alerts; and transmitting theunsuppressed alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:identifying by the alert listener in dependence upon alert analysisrules one or more additional alerts; and transmitting the one or moreadditional alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:identifying by the event analyzer in dependence upon event analysisrules and the events assigned to the events pool one or more alerts;sending by the event analyzer to an alert analyzer all the alertsidentified by the event analyzer;
 4. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: determining by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alertanalysis rules and the alerts in the alert pool whether to suppress anyalerts; and transmitting the unsuppressed alerts to one or morecomponents of the distributed processing system.
 5. The method of claim4 wherein determining by the alert analyzer in dependence upon alertanalysis rules and the alerts in the alert pool whether to suppress anyalerts further comprises selecting events and determining whether tosuppress any alerts in dependence upon the selected events.
 6. Themethod of claim 4 further comprising identifying by the alert analyzerin dependence upon alert analysis rules, the alerts in the alert pool,and selected events one or more additional alerts; and transmitting theunsuppressed alerts further comprises transmitting the one or moreadditional alerts to one or more components of the distributedprocessing system. 7-20. (canceled)